<p>Well, my first SAT I took I got a 560 on math ( pretty bad) and a 570 on CR, so I set out to improve my SAT math score the summer of my upcoming senior year, with one month of prep I increased my SAT math score to a average of 630, but I'm kind of stuck here and have been prepping for about a 2-3 week for about 45mins a day and their are no signs of any improvement. My goal was to get a SAT math score of 700 and a CR score of 600, but I'm doubtful if I can reach this goal before the OCT or NOV SAT date. How can I break out of this plateau? I already did all of the bluebook problems and the CB online math problems so that's about 16 real CB tests and I also reviewed what I missed. I'm really depressed at how I cannot improve.</p>
<p>I like your username 
When your at this point, I think it’s basically up to knowing tricks and spotting “weirdness” in SAT questions. There’s a bunch of tips for the Math section out there such as “plug and chug and try each choice”. It all comes down to recognising what the SAT is asking.</p>
<p>Yeah, he was a interesting person, to me at least :P.</p>
<p>I already know a lot of the tricks in the prep books like plugging in and using the answers to your advantage, but for some reason I still end up loosing on average 4 pts per section and it frustrates me to no end. Usually I will get a medium question that I don’t know how to tackle that will throw me off my “flow” and it kinds goes down hill from their.</p>
<p>To be completely honest with you, my math section is not doing so hot so I’m probably not the best person to offer tips/advice. Right now, I’m just going through practice tests and trying to figure out what kind of questions I’m getting wrong. (Like if I’m getting hard questions wrong and whether they are algebra, geometry, inequalities…etc.) Get an excel spread sheet and log all questions you got wrong. Star the questions that you actually do not know versus the questions you got wrong due to careless mistakes.</p>
<p>Well, I appreciate the advice, I guess I just have to practice until I get it, lol.</p>
<p>I have the same problem! I have been stuck in the 640-700 range for a good while. Most often I get the easiest and hard questions wrong. I always rush through the easiest questions, doing silly mistakes ( especially on grid-ins ).</p>
<p>If I were you I would check what kind of questions give you the biggest trouble, and focus on them.</p>
<p>Tip: READ THE QUESTION. I know this sounds dumb but I usually get the easiest questions wrong so I’m stuck in the 700s</p>
<p>Ex. If 4x+5=65 and x is not negative but less than 50, what is the value of 2x.</p>
<p>Many ppl (like me) will find x and put that but the question is asking for 2x. So read the question and check over your work!!</p>
<p>I suggest you get Dr. Chung math book. I was in the same spot as you and I was really frustrated because I always get math in school. I got 620 on my first SAT on the math section even though I basically memorized most the tricks and tips for the math. However, I finally realized that in order to get a high score in the math section, you need to master the basics and Dr. Chung by far is the best book out of all the prep books that I used. The book has a lot of hard questions and if you manage to get through the first 10 tests, you’re basically set to get 700 and above in the math section. I just took a practice test out of the blue book after finishing my 11th test from Dr. Chung and I got 800</p>
<p>To the OP:</p>
<p>It depends entirely on what you are getting wrong.</p>
<p>If you find yourself unable to figure out how to do some of the questions, then you may just need to study more intensely. It can also happen that some questions are just too difficult for some people. But there are only 2 or 3 problems like this per test, so I don’t think that these should keep you from achieving a 700.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you are making stupid mistakes, then I do all calculations both by hand and with a calculator (to ensure accuracy) and reread the last sentence of EVERY problem to make sure that you actually answered the question.</p>
<p>College Board likes to screw with you by asking for “3x” and hoping that you put the value of “x” instead.</p>
<p>I’m in the same position as you, but I got a couple of books that really help.</p>
<p>Tip One; With multiple choice, BACKSOLVE. I know that it’s the oldest trick in the book and everyone knows how to backsolve but you have no idea how much people can go straight to just algebraically doing the problem and wasting time when they can just pick numbers and backsolve. We’re trained to immediately do the question in school, but on the SAT you just need to get the right answer. Nobody cares how you do it. </p>
<p>Tip Two: List out the given details, especially difficult word problems with tons of annoying variables. Don’t just underline. For example:</p>
<p>Given -
1200 people total
2/5 of 1200 accepted = (2/5)(1200) = blahblahblah</p>
<p>That should knock out a LOT of easy questions.</p>
<p>And to add to SuperN0va’s point, when you list out the given info MAKE SURE that you write the formula and the thing for which you are looking WITH THE UNIT. For example: </p>
<p>Given - </p>
<h1>of accepted applicants = ? people</h1>
<p>This also helps with percentage problems because sometimes you forget if they’re asking for the # of people or the percentage.</p>